My Hero Future
by Soulitude
Summary: Over 10 years after the “Class of Legends” graduated, new villains and revelations threaten to divide the class, and the nation.
1. Rebirth

The media has been hyping up this day for the past year, after the original announcement. Like vultures, the reporters stalk the outside of the Alderaan Mental Hospital. Murmuring heightens among the crowd, cameras all pointed at the door beyond the gates that divided them from him.

Who is "him"? Everyone knew the answer, and yet almost nobody did, all the same. These were the thoughts roaming through Taneo Tokuda's mind as the freelance journalist watched his fellow parasites keep their many eyes steady. He didn't have a camera with him though, after all, his quirk, Whole-Body Lens, could turn any part of his body into a camera in a flash, particularly useful for a journalist. All he needed to do was take a quick picture of him walking out of the hospital, then he'd be on his way, that should be good enough for Juko News.

Finally, a creak was heard from the front entrance. And the vultures blocked Tokuda's view.

Shit.

No matter, he'd just have to stay a little longer. Interestingly enough, the media around him did not shout tons of questions. Quite the opposite. Seemingly paralyzed with fear, no one dared to move.

Confident steps emerged from the entrance, and the gate began to open. Everyone scurried out of the way, making a large path for the emerged patient.

Shigaraki.

A chuckle came out of the ex-villain, "I didn't take you all to be so shy. You know, I thought I would be pestered with questions, guess this just doesn't live up to the hype." Tokuda inches his way to the front of the pack. "Ah, but I guess I'm meant to make a good first impression." A flower emerges out of Shigaraki's hand, "Ah, one of my favorites, the hydrangea." Tokuda finally gets to the front. With a clear view of the man, the difference compared to him now and nearly a decade ago at his televised court case was staggering. Gone was his shriveled skin and disorganized hair. Replaced was a smooth complexion, and a simple short haircut. Shigaraki turns towards Tokuda's side of the path, "Anyone want this? Won't be able to take it with me in the car." A slight glance to the end of the reporters' path would reveal an unmarked black vehicle.

-My Hero Future-

Tokuda could remember it like yesterday, under the rubble of U.A, the next generation of heroes from Class 3-A had ended up victorious against Tomura Shigaraki and the Villain Association. Shigaraki had collapsed under the might of the Big Three: Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugou, and Shouto Todoroki. He could have kept going, however. But he gave up. Audio from the footage was never released, but one could see Deku talking to the supervillain and sticking out a hand. Shigaraki took it. The Villain Association broke apart after that.

Come nearly a year later at Shigaraki's trial. He seemed almost resigned. His lawyer had stuck to a feeble attempt at pleading insanity. Somehow it actually worked. Going through various mental institutions, Alderaan was deemed best fit for Shigaraki. After that, he had gone mostly under the radar.

That was, until a year ago. A spokesperson for the Japanese Government unveiled the Villain Rehabilitation Program, under which villains could be admitted to a mental institution and be rehabilitated into a hero. The first participant was revealed to be Shigaraki, the world-renowned terrorist. Naturally, this sparked outrage across the nation, and it still does. But now, the fruits of the program can be seen.

-My Hero Future-

Still, no one said or did anything. Tokuda decided this would be a pretty good scoop, and stuck a hand out. Shigaraki gave another chuckle, "Ah, it seems that someone here isn't a robot. Nice to know." He chucked the flower to Tokuda's hand. "Well, seems I need to get going." He went across the path, smiling as it closed behind him with journalists. "Ah, but one more thing." He stopped at the car. "You should probably know my name." He turned around.

"Call me Tenko. Tenko Shimura."

A flash came from Tokuda's hand at a smiling Tenko. By the time the reporters processed what had just happened, Tenko and the car were gone. Tokuda got the only picture of Tenko that day. Overall, he got a pretty good scoop. And let's just say, the next issue of Juko Magazine got a boost in readers.


	2. Hope

A grouchy voice spoke through the receiver, "Seems like a pretty shitty one Red Riot." "Well aware, Ground Zero," came with a hint of sarcasm from the other side. They were both on opposing buildings looking down at the crime scene. Their target was in the middle, the villain named Taint. A dozen cops surrounding his front, with a bank in the back. He had threatened a robbery, but made no attempt at getting loot after having the police called on him. "You know the cue Ground Zero?" "Of fucking course I do, do I look like-" Taint finally spoke, "Cops, heroes, all part of a failed system. Over a decade ago, only one was willing to speak up and make change, but now, I will do the same!" He drew a handgun out from seemingly nowhere, but his quirk could explain that. Gungame, the ability to pull out a loaded gun at any time, with its effectiveness increasing for each shot hitting an animal or human within the last hour.

The crazed eyes under Taint's long scattered hair shifted from side to side, "Do any of you even care?" The police shifted slightly towards him. "Stop moving! This isn't time for you to close in on me, you bastards. I could leave whenever I want. I could kill you all whenever I want. But I won't do that, not yet." The two heroes above got into position. "Being a cop, being a hero, it isn't just a job. It's a duty damnit!" He quickly aimed the gun towards the nearest cop. "And I, I will show you what a duty is."

"Now."

An explosion from above distracted Taint for a key moment, unfortunately it distracted the cops too. Kirishima had to leap down from the other side and shift into his Unbreakable form. Bakugou finally was in Taint's sight, both of his eyes and gun. Before being able to fire a shot, Kirishima shouted, "Taint!"

A grunt of frustration came out as Taint turned over towards Kirishima and fired a shot. The bullet bounced right off of his hardened skin, momentarily surprising Taint until he realized who he was dealing with. "Red Riot, pleasure to meet you here. Tell me, Mr. Chivalry, what is the essence of being a hero?" A frown was all he got in response. "Ah, I guess it isn't the time for philosophical discussions. You are one of the better ones, I must admit, but your partner over there. He, I could do without." A twinge of annoyance came over Kirishima, but he had learned long ago to not be affected by the blabber of villains.

A subtle nod gave Bakugou the "ok" to rush behind Taint, an explosion drawing them together. Both heroes closed in from opposing sides, Taint tried to fire a shot at Bakugou but a hardened jab from Kirishima made him miss. They both collapsed onto Taint, gripping his arms and forcing him to drop the handgun. The police quickly closed in as well, taking out generic handcuffs and forcing them onto Taint; Taint is unable to use his quirk without access to his hands.

A whimper came out from the man in cuffs, "Only one had the conviction needed. Only. One. Only one was allowed to take him down. Only Stain could change the world."

-My Hero Future-

After being broken out of Tartarus, Stain sought to re-establish his ideals onto the world. An encounter between him and second-year U.A. student Izuku Midoriya would end up truly being his last. Bakugou could remember it like it was yesterday.

"In a failed society of fakes, it takes one to jumpstart the revolution. Show the world, Deku, what it means to be a true hero!" Stain's conviction had grown massively during his time locked up, but Bakugou had been through much over the past two years, and it seemed Midoriya was the same. "Today, Stain, we are all true heroes. Saving people, no matter the cost!" He activated 20% Full Cowl and zipped over to Stain. Stain never stood a chance, he couldn't even get a hit in on Midoriya. All the while Bakugou had been paralyzed through a cheap shot from one of Stain's throwing knives.

Spinner tried to retrieve his idol after he was knocked out, but by then Bakugou had gotten out of his paralysis and was able to blow Spinner back. Unfortunately, they only captured Stain that day. Spinner's last stand would be much later, and yet more pathetic. Taint didn't hold him in high regard, he saw Spinner as corrupting Stain's name, he couldn't hold onto his convictions by the end.

-My Hero Future-

After Taint's arrest, Kirishima's phone rang. He was going to ignore it until he saw who it was. "Mina! Hey, what's up?" "I should be asking you. What are you up to right now?" "Just got through with a villain, my shift should be wrapping up soon. So we will have the rest of the day to ourselves." At the other end of the phone, Ashido smiled. Her boyfriend of two years was so loyal and loving. Even though he spent most of his hero time with Bakugou, she trusted he wasn't gay.

The couple spent their time together with a lot of generic dating and romance. They originally split after graduation, with Kirishima going to join Bakugou's agency and Ashido going with Midoriya. But after the end of the rising supervillain, Strand, 4 years ago, they came back into contact. Eventually their relationship evolved naturally into a romantic one. Ashido didn't know it, but Kirishima has been planning to propose to her at their class's 10 year reunion, which was incoming very soon. Iida had helped put it together, contacting even members of the class that weren't so much in the spotlight, such as Mineta and Shinso. Even though Iida was anticipation it very much, Kirishima was the most pumped up about it. He truly couldn't wait.

-My Hero Future-

Over in Kamino Ward, fully repaired years ago from All for One's utter destruction, a flood of bubbles stormed across the streets. It all came from a mere teenage girl. The bubbled came from her eyes, intensifying based on negative emotions. The morning had barely even started, so the morning commute had been interrupted by the sudden burst of bubbles.

A green blur dashed through the bubbles, in a hasty search for the girl who caused it. The people down below, covered in bubbles, pointed at the sky. "It's a bird!" "It's a plane!" "No, it's Deku!" Midoriya gave a quick flex to create a wind gust and eliminate the nearby bubbles. Now he was quickly able to spot the source of it all, a small apartment near the Dirt-Cheap Donki-Oote, a small clothing store. Hopping onto a window, he spotted the girl trying to stop her tears. "H-hey." He made an attempt to comfort her. "Why so down?"

The girl turned towards Deku, expressing a great deal of surprise at the sudden visit from the Number One Hero. "Deku! Oh, it's nothing. Nothing at all." She gave a weak smile. Midoriya frowned, "It's not nothing, your emotions are important." She realized why he was here, "My quirk, it activated, didn't it? I didn't even notice I'm so so sorry-" "It's okay, we can't control what happens to us. All we can do is try to maintain some stability, but even that needs to be tampered with at times. You can't bottle up your feelings, after all." She gave a subtle frown to the last statement.

"Everything is just so stressful. School, my friends, home. I can't handle it. I can't even cry without screwing everything up!" She nearly screamed at Deku. Midoriya lowered his voice, "You can cry. But you can't hold it all in. That will make it worse. You get what I mean?" She nodded. "Good, good. You feeling alright now?" She nodded again, slightly slower this time. "Alright. I have to head out. But remember this advi-" a sudden hug through the open window cut him off. They stayed there for around 15 seconds.

A glimmer of hope went through her mind. Things can get better. Her cycle of emotions can be stopped.

The cycle will be broken.


	3. Familiar

Hitoshi Shinso was having a pretty good day all things considered. To put it in context, villains have decreased in amount since Tenko officially became a hero, likely in fear of the All for One holder. So he has been dealing with less than usual. After becoming an underground hero like his mentor, he's been on his own most of the time during his self appointed patrols. One could say it gets lonely, but the occasional assistance from nearby heroes is able to make up for it.

And that takes us to where he is now. Watching a criminal robotically give back all of a robbed woman's possessions, waiting to use his capture tape on the villain. As commanded, she finally finished handing back the money, one by one, and turned over to Shinso, ready to be captured. A lot of his job is fairly easy like this, brainwashing helps after all. Unfortunately his status as the "most popular underground hero" leads to some hitches, with some villains refusing to utter a word to him. Luckily for such cases he could try his voice modifier, but that relies on him remaining in the shadows. Plenty of variables to consider. But he had one of the best teachers around to guide him through it.

"Thank you so so much hero," the victim was ecstatic. It isn't too often that he sticks around after a villain was apprehended, and he planned for this time to not be any different. He pulled down his capture taped scarf and gave a smirk, "It's just my job, ma'am." Turning away, he waved her off from behind and got set to climb up the building, a skill deemed "critical" to remain in the shadows, but a scream from behind cut this off. Quickly turning around, he saw the same woman who was so excited before trapped in a pile of green mud. "Yes, thank you very much hero." A mocking masculine voice spoke out from within the sludge.

"Stand down now!" Shinso shouted, hoping for a reply. Instead, the mud dislodged itself from the woman and went directly for Shinso. Panicking, he threw his capture tape onto a nearby handrail and yanked himself up. He was just in time to dodge the swarm. He felt like he recognized this villain. But that couldn't be, he was sure he would remember fighting someone like this.

Two eyes and a toothed grin came from the thing and leapt up to the handrail, creeping towards Shinso. His standard stoic demeanor was shattered, instead this was one of the few times as a hero he had truly felt hopeless. Spotting a garbage can, he tried flinging it into one of the eyes with his tape. But it was quickly blocked with more mud. The mouth spoke, "Resistant one, aren't you? Makes sense. I have heard a lot about you Shinso-" "Like what?" A frown overcame the monster, as if he wanted to say so much more, but couldn't. He quickly made an attempt to pull himself towards the roof of a nearby store, but his foot became caught in the mud. The eyes and mouth slid down towards Shinso, chuckling as it came. "You bastard!" He used his other foot to stomp on his left eye. The sludge reeled back in pain, his mouth turning to a frown. Shinso tried once again to reach the top of the building, but this time the entire being leapt where he was set to land. He had to let go and plummet back to the steps. Taking a look at the mud, the two eyes squinted at Shinso. Finally ready to strike, the mud approached Shinso once again. And then he remembered.

-My Hero Future-

"So you got into a villain encounter even before U.A? Jeez, I knew you were a villain magnet but I didn't know it was this bad." Shinso chuckled at an abashed Midoriya. "T-that wasn't the point of me telling you this! My encounter with him isn't what made the news anyways. Kacchan encountered him after me and-" "Hold up Midoriya, I thought you said All Might blasted that shit monster into bits. How the hell did he get away?" Midoriya somehow became even more embarrassed, "Well it, uh, I-" "Nevermind, tell me more about Blasty getting screwed over by some mud."

"And then you tried to save him?! Jeez, Midoriya, coulda saved us a lot of trouble if you were just like the other heroes." That seemed to be a joke too far, "Hey, don't kid around about that. Kacchan is not that bad of a guy, and we have been in enough mortal danger as is." This time Shinso looked slightly embarrassed, "Alright, I get it. You've been suffering with him a lot longer than me anyways, you keep insisting he's gotten better. So I'll take your word for it. Besides. You were never one to leave someone behind."

-My Hero Future-

At the time Shinso got a fair bit of entertainment hearing about the resident King Explosion Murder getting completely owned by some D-Rank villain. But he sounded much more pathetic than Shinso had seen up to now. The sludge finally reached him, but Shinso had one last track. He tried lodging his capture tape around the majority of the sludge, if he could control most of it, this villain wouldn't get far. Unfortunately for him, the tape ended up just getting absorbed into the sludge, dragging Shinso closer and closer. The villain rushed over Shinso's entire body, all he could do was keep a grip onto his phone as the sludge forced his mouth open and started to seep in, "Don't worry, I won't kill ya. I can't. I need you alive to use your quirk. I need to get that punk kid that led to my arrest, or should I say, big old Number One. Bah, but your brainwashing brings anyone with a brain down, right?"

Was he talking about Midoriya? Shit, he had to warn the other heroes somehow. His phone, like every hero, had an emergency button to send a ping out to the closest heroes. Convulsing under the weight of this new intruder, he had just sent his location in time for him to smash the phone. But he hadn't smashed the phone. No. But his body did.

The Sludge Villain had gained complete control over the Brainwashing Hero. He stood there for a moment, flexing his arms and moves his fingers. "I can't believe it." Shinso's voice sent out. "It's been over a decade since I took over someone. Hey, still alive in there? Trying out a new technique. Hopefully I can get your quirk working." A chuckle came from within, not bothering to escape out of Shinso. Tears began to come out of Shinso's eyes under the severe pain he was in, but suddenly that stopped too. "Can't look too suspicious buddy. Gonna have to take over these tear ducts for you." His mouth was forced into a grin.

The woman was long gone at this point, having run away at some point during Shinso's fight. His body began walking down the stairs and on his way to, well, somewhere, when a giant gust of wind made him stop in his tracks. Turning around, Shinso and the villain saw none other than Tenko Shimura.

-My Hero Future-

"Holy shit, they broke into the USJ?" Shinso asked his fellow 1-C classmate, both looking at their phones waiting for homeroom to start. The classmate looked surprised Shinso was actually addressing them, having been relatively reserved up to now, "Uh-yeah, yeah, they say the leader of these villains calls himself Shigaraki. There wasn't a picture taken of him but based on the sketch, he looks like shit." Shinso snorted at his classmate's bluntness.

Scrolling through the news article, he was reportedly covered in hands, and seemed barely older than a teenager. The fact that someone so close in age to Shinso could perpetuate such a disaster made him shudder. If only he knew what was to come.

-My Hero Future-

Shinso wasn't going to lie to himself, he was still relatively terrified of Tenko. A single man with the power of dozens of quirks, enough to bring most heroes down to their knees. No wonder it took all of them to make him give up. But, he did trust that Tenko truly changed for the better. If Midoriya could trust him, so could he, probably. That's for nothing though when that isn't his concern right now. If the sludge bastard could use his quirk, then-

"Shinso! I came as fast as I could, what is the emergency?" Tenko actually looked serious for once. It is not everyday, after all, that one of these emergency pings go off. In fact, this was actually Tenko's first time seeing one. Shinso's mouth turned to a smile, "Ah, I was actually able to handle it. Just an overreaction is all." "Ah, I see, that's relievin-" Tenko froze in place. The villain did it, he was able to force Shinso's quirk to be used. Shinso's heart was pounding. What the hell could he do with the holder of All for One? All of this power in his hands. Did he even realize who he just brought under his control?"

The villain spoke under Shinso.

"Find Izuku Midoriya and kill him and anyone who gets in your way."


	4. Torment

He'd gotten out on parole. Turns out acting nice in prison goes a long way. Originally he had a 40 year sentence for attempted murder of a minor, but he was able to get out as soon as he could. It was all an act, of course, he hadn't legitimately improved mentally. Instead, he spent his selfish tendencies building up his own desire to get revenge for his imprisonment.

Initially he was planning to make an attempt at All Might's life, looking back that was a dumb idea, all his plan was, was to try and suffocate him. But he had plenty of time to rethink and replan. Yet that was when things got interesting. He still had access to outside information, through news channels playing on the televisions, he wasn't in freaking Tartarus after all. And that's when he watched All Might's last stand on replay, against the fearsome All for One. All that was left was an empty husk of his former self. Now killing him would be that much easier.

Or it would, if All Might hadn't died a few years after. There went his whole plan for revenge. Now what? His anger was redirected towards two of the most promising U.A. hopefuls: Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou. He originally couldn't come to blame Midoriya that much, the shitty kid didn't even do much, All Might was the one who captured him after all. That attitude changed when he saw an interview of rising Pro Hero Deku.

"So Deku, what was your first villainous encounter?" The interviewer glanced down at her set of prewritten questions. Deku scratched his cheek, showing a bit of nervousness, "It was actually before my time at U.A." The Sludge Villain inched forward a bit. The televisions were set up in the cafeteria, so he was having a perfectly edible bowl of mystery soup when his whole plan was thrown sideways.

"On the way home from middle school, this pile of sludge, I guess, tried to go on and suffocate me!" The interviewer smirked, "And then you blew it to bits, right?" "No, not at all, this was before I had any control over my quirk. I think I nearly died that day, but All Might came and saved me! He tried to store the villain in a bottle, but I guess it broke free and escaped while All Might was in the air." The villain was sure Deku would remember latching onto All Might and causing his bottle to fall out, but I guess that would be too embarrassing for the media. "Later on, the villain had caught my friend, who is now known as Ground Zero." The interviewer's eyes widened. "But his explosions kept all the heroes back. I did something kind of stupid when I found him. I, um, tried to save him?" At least he had the audacity to sound embarrassed. "All Might had to save us by the end of it. But later on, um, a few years after, he had mentioned to me during our time at U.A. that my attempt to save Ground Zero spurred him into action. Making him go beyond what is now known as his time limit, and save us! So maybe I did have a difference after all." He tuned the rest of the interview out. So Deku made All Might capture him. So Deku is to blame for all of this. He will pay. But first, a new plan is needed.

Many years after that, he was finally free. But he wasn't going to go right up to Deku and fight him, no, that would end up in him getting caught again. He needed a body, someone with a useful quirk. A figure jumped down into a nearby alley. Turning into the lowest amount of mud, he crept on over. "Give her back her possessions." A commanding voice called out. An eye popped out of the mud, glancing over to the scene. He probably would be unsure if he hadn't just heard him use his quirk, but this had to be Hitoshi Shinso, the brainwashing hero. If there was anyone who could take down Midoriya, it was him. But first he'd have to get his attention, the women could be easy bait. He would just quickly escape otherwise. A smirk came from the sludge. This could work.

-My Hero Future-

He wasn't quite sure who he had just sent after Deku, though the hero seemed familiar, not in a good way. But that wasn't his concern for now. Watching the grayish-blue haired hero, the villain resolved to follow him and make sure no one would be able to snap him out of the brainwashing. Shinso's body had trouble running towards Tenko, though the villain slowly got more control over the body.

They were headed towards the Deku Agency, which had resided in All Might's old tower, now known as the "Hope Tower", fitting for the Symbol of Hope. 'Hopefully Midoriya isn't in there, maybe on a patrol or something, anything.' Shinso hoped, though he is pretty sure that this is usually the time he focuses on paperwork, at least based on when he's talked to Midoriya before over the phone. He could only hope that someone, anyone, would be able to stop Tenko. Though under the villain's order, Tenko would try to kill anyone who got in his way. And he would likely be successful.

The large awe-inspiring tower began to be in sight. But they were interrupted by a spray of liquid blocking their way. Someone with a garbage can for a head, likely a villain, was blown back by the blast. Mina Ashido and her blonde-haired female partner, Pro Hero Clapback, rushed to subdue the threat. A single snap from Clapback blew the trash can's lid up, revealing a garbage bag with eyes. Mutant quirks are truly varied. Tenko shifted over to Ashido.

"Kill him and anyone who gets in your way."

Ashido turned over to the two. "Wassup Shinso!" Shinso's mouth moved, "Not much Pinky, just taking a trip over to Deku." At the mention of "Pinky" Ashido's smile faltered, if only for a moment. She took a glance over to Tenko and looked into his eyes. Shinso never called Midoriya by his hero name so casually, and Ashido had changed her hero name months ago to her original name, "Alien Queen". Something was wrong with him, and he had control over Tenko. She turned over to Clapback, "Hey, give Tenko a quick snap." Shinso's eyes widened, and Tenko prepared to follow his order. An energy ball began to form out of Tenko's hand, shifting it, he aimed it at Ashido. Clapback tried to rush Tenko's side, but he allowed the blast to explode right then and there, blasting Clapback against a wall. Ashido quickly pulled out her phone and brought up the "Hero Emergency" app, similar to what Shinso had used, but with more features. She turned the threat level to its maximum and sent a ping to every hero in Tokyo.

Tenko's eyes shifted back to Ashido. A pair of claws extended out of his hand, and his feet shifted to have rockets on them. He blasted over to Ashido, ready to strike. Alien Queen was ready, however, "Acid Veil!" A wall of gelatinous acid blocked Tenko's attack, but Tenko quickly zoomed 10 meters above Ashido and was ready to charge back down on top of her. Suddenly a giant branch intercepted Tenko, nearly hitting him. Kamui Woods appeared with his wife, Mount Lady, right behind him. "Tenko! Is that you?" Blank eyes glanced over to Kamui Woods, Tenko's mouth filled with flames and shot them out directly towards him. Mount Lady threw her husband away from the blast, getting only slightly burned. Shinso's hands began toying around with his Artificial Vocal Chords, up until he felt he found the correct setting. Ashido's voice called out, "Kamui! Don't worry, I can explain." "Well go on ahead!" Kamui Woods replied. But there was no explanation. Ashido screamed out, "Shit! Mount Lady stop him from getting brainwa-" Tenko got a quick jab in on her face, knocking her off balance. The two stared at each other for a moment before going at it, or more specifically, before Ashido kept dodging Tenko's infinite variety of attacks.

Kamui Woods froze up. "Brainwashing, wait what do you mean?" Mount Lady tried to question Alien Queen, but to no avail, she was a bit too busy not dying. Shinso's voice called out to Kamui Woods, "Extend your branches to maximum capacity." Very quickly, it seemed like a gigantic tree had grown in the middle of the district. Mount Lady stayed her normal size but got caught up in the burst, "Honey? What's going on?" She sounded afraid. After a few seconds of no response, she resolved to grow in size, "Sorry about this." She broke through most of his branches and towered over all of them. She gave Kamui a quick tap with her foot and brought him down, snapping him out of the brainwashing. Her other foot bang to get dragged by something. Looking down, she spotted Shinso pulling on it with his capture tape, "Wait, what are you doing?" She tripped over it and fell over, causing Ashido to get squished, while Tenko stared at them. Knocked out, she went back to her normal size, revealing Ashido barely being able to stand up.

A bundle of police vehicles came onto the scene. Coming out of a police truck was esteemed police chief Takamori Kawaski with a megaphone in his hand. "Do not be alarmed! Tenko Shimura, please stand down. We can get you any help you need!" His voice rang out across the block. Yet it had no effect, Tenko marched towards the cars, with a fireball already charging in his mouth.

The flames shot out of his mouth, condensed into a sphere, when a gust of wind overtook the street and caught the blast. An armored glove held the fireball, squishing it into nothing. Green hair became visible over the dust, then came the freckles. Number One Hero Deku finally arrived to the worst case scenario.

He frowned towards his friend, "Tenko. This isn't like you. What are you doing?" He stayed on guard and gave a passing glance to everyone around him: the police on one side, Clapback still stuck in a wall, Alien Queen on her knees and Mount Lady and Kamui Woods completely knocked out. Shinso was the only hero left standing, but he wasn't in his normal posture, it was like someone was wearing his skin, slumped off and barely holding on. Tenko silently marched towards Midoriya. With a hint as to what was going on, Midoriya charged up 60% Full Cowl and prepared for Tenko's attack.

And attack he did, blasting himself with his rocket feet, Tenko charged up his fist with nuclear energy, an attack he promised to reserve for last resorts. 60% Black Whip shot out from Midoriya, nearly crushing Tenko with its weight. Giving him a quick slam to the ground, Midoriya hoped that would snap him out of it. A few coughs ruptured from the dust extruding from his slam, Tenko muttered, "Wait, wait, stop attacking. Please. I don't know what happened, I swear, I wasn't in control." This had essentially confirmed Midoriya's theory, Shinso had brainwashed Tenko. But why? Midoriya inched towards Tenko, "It's okay, I'll stop, it's over. I think I know what happened." He glanced over to Shinso, whose eyes made him seem stunned.

Midoriya turned and began his march to Shinso, "Shinso, what the hell did you do?"


	5. Nostalgia

Sir Nighteye had once paraded the idea that a great symbol needs to smile, like All Might had done. All Might's smile as the Symbol of Peace became his trademark feature, giving comfort to all around him. Midoriya slowly was able to gain that ever-present smile over his time at U.A. as his control over One for All and its many quirks grew. But he took another look at himself after the defeat of the Villain Association under Shigaraki's rule. During his rehabilitation, Tenko reflected on his hatred towards Deku's late mentor. The one thing he hated most was that smile. That ignorant, goofy, mocking smile.

All Might was never ignorant of all those he couldn't save, pushing himself years after suffering an injury that should have ended his entire career just to save as many as he could. Unfortunately, he was not around for Tenko Shimura, allowing him to get in the hands of his worst enemy, All for One. Having to see All Might's smile over society, making them all think they were at some kind of peace? Disgusting. He was a Symbol of Peace in a world where there is never peace. There will always be people to save.

Midoriya took this in stride, changing his goal from All Might's replacement as the new Symbol of Peace, to a Symbol of Hope. Hope that the world will get better, hope that people like Tenko could be saved. Not ignorant peace, but optimistic hope. His ideal All Might smile changed as well. Smiling every day every week to everyone would get tiring after all. But there was no need for him to smile all the time, to pretend everything was ok. No. He just had to be confident. Confident in his hope that the future will bring something better, anything better.

Which is why he could not bring himself to smile after having to take down someone who had grown into a friend of his over his time of recovery. Marching towards Shinso, he shouted out, "What the hell did you do?" Shinso appeared to be surprised, "You're stronger than I thought you would be. Heh, guess you really do live up to your number." A twisted smirk arose. Midoriya was about to reply when he realized that Shinso, or whoever this is, would just use the opportunity to brainwash him.

Over their times of training, Midoriya learned the inner-workings of Shinso's quirk. Specifically, he was able to study the limitations of brainwashing. The quirk's activation requires that one gives a reply to a statement from the brainwasher. However, starting a new conversation without the intent of replying to the prior one did not let Shinso brainwash. So, Midoriya went on to a new topic, "So I am fairly curious. Who is in there?" Like a deer in headlights, Shinso's eyes flew open, "How did you know?" Even though he was tempted to make a snarky remark, Midoriya stayed quiet. Clearly whoever it was wasn't the smartest tool in the shed. But that was not important right now, his first guess was right. Shinso was being possessed by someone. He had been suspicious it was the villain "Puppetmaster" whose quirk lets them control any part of a single body, but that criminal was smarter than to give themselves up like this. Still, they had caused a wreck of things.

Shinso growled, "Damnit, again and again you keep screwing everything up. This was meant to be my chance!" Shinso's foot slammed onto the ground. "Enough 'Deku', this was a shitty plan anyways. I will need to take vengeance on you in a way other than brute force." Midoriya walked towards Shinso, whose body backed up into a wall, "Get away from me dammit! I could kill your little friend right now." This made him pause. "Yes, yes, now back off little Symbol of Hope while I get away." He began to fully suffocate Shinso as he ran away. Before this he had been leaving a path to his lungs open so that his sludge would not completely kill him, but now all bets are off! His captive began to struggle, quickly taking control of an arm and punching his own face. This had, evidently, hurt the Sludge Villain as well, if the grunt heard within Shinso was to mean anything.

With his Hover quirk from a prior One for All holder, Midoriya leapt up a few meters and went above Shinso. "I'm so sorry for this," he muttered as he let his fingers start releasing spouts of bioelectricity. Another one of Midoriya's quirks is Bioelectric Touch, the ability to release bioelectricity from parts of his body to be able to stun others, not having the same power as Kaminari's electric, but working as an effective paralysis quirk. A flash of light came and Shinso collapsed, with a pool of mud leaking out of his mouth. Somehow Midoriya's frown grew deeper, that mud wasn't brown like usual, and yet it looked so familiar.

Then the mud escaped Shinso even quicker, as if it had actually been someone crawling out of him. And now he remembers. His own near death experience, meeting All Might, running to save Kacchan. It made sense now. This was him. The Sludge Villain, in the mud.

Midoriya kept his composure, "So you got out of prison? Did not expect to be seeing you around. Judging from how I have not gotten any reports about you escaping, I assume you got out on parole." The eyes within the mud looked around, rapidly. "Well this sucks then. After what you just did to Tenko and Shinso, you're just going to be headed right back there. Or, well, probably in one of the Tartarus Super Prisons." After the Tartarus Breakout, 10 super prisons were built across the nation. Each housing their own batch of crazed super villains, each with security better than 5 of the old Tartarus prisons combined, and each also being used to house one of the last remaining Nomu. The rest of them had been killed one way or another, after all. There were only 10 left, the Doctor's "Higher-End" collection, fully sentient, coherent, and packed with quirks. Now they're stuck to being test subjects, rehabilitation was not even considered for them like it was with Tenko.

The eyes locked on to something over to the villain's left, the trash can villain from before limping away. Before Midoriya even realized what he was doing, the Sludge Villain was already over his target. Coughing came from besides Midoriya, looking down he saw that Shinso had woken up. Screaming snapped him out of his relief, sludge was leaking into the villain's trash bag, his eyes panicking. Begging for help.

Just like on that day.

But now Midoriya wasn't a quirkless wannabe hero, he was the Number One Hero! A giant mouth spoke out from the mud, "What will you do hero? Risk the life of an innocent, or trust that perhaps I'd let him live? Could you live with yourself if you killed someone undeservedly? Come on Deku, what are you gonna do?" A chuckle came from him. This is what he wanted, to be able to reduce the Symbol of Hope into nothingness, to break that image people had of him. To get revenge. After his time in prison, he realized that he would never get a job now. Before he was able to maintain life as a courier for illegal affairs, but now, even over a decade later, no one would take him in. It was all Midoriya's fault!

In a blink, Midoriya appeared in front of him. His hand forced its way into the mud, pulling out the trash can villain. Holding him away, the Symbol of Hope charged up one of his trademark attacks.

"Smash!"

Only at 60%, a twister formed from the punch, separating the villain's mud around the area, reducing him into something small enough to put in a bottle, which Deku did. Quickly taking out an empty soda can he had just drank, he stuffed the villain into it, and luckily his eyes scaled down proportionally with his now decreased size. The trash can looked on expectedly, as if he was going to throw the villain in. Midoriya chuckled, "You are meant to recycle plastics." Suddenly he turned serious, "You are under arrest too you know?" A small bundle of police cars had come over, departing from the scene a block away that was being handled by Kawaski's crew. The trash gave itself up to the police, and Midoriya gave one of the policemen the soda can, receiving a hearty laugh in response.

Shinso jogged over to Midoriya, still in disarray from nearly dying. "Is he, done?" Shinso asked. Deku smiled, "Yes, I have a feeling he is done." They headed towards the minor area of destruction caused mostly by Tenko and, to a lesser extent, Kamui Woods. Tenko was essentially rambling on, frustrated, about how the media would treat this incident. Shouting at Kawaski he said, "And now what? Everything is handled. Do I just wait to see people blame me for this shit? There are people with single quirks that could easily cause more destruction, but nobody cares, because they just want to blame fucking Tenko!" Usually he was a relatively laid back guy, so seeing him like this served as a shock to Midoriya, despite knowing him for so long. It reminded him of his days as Shigaraki, but he tries not to delve into that too much.

Kawaski frowned, "The police can not help you out with that. Your reputation is based on yourself and your actions, you will just need to convince the fearful people of what you just said to me." Midoriya placed a hand on Tenko's shoulder, grounding him. Beginning to relax, Tenko turned to Midoriya, "Ay green, got rid of other green?" Confused on how he knew about the Sludge Villain, Tenko quickly explained, "Well, I have a lot of quirks, you know, and, um, one may let me see through the eyes of anyone nearby." A horrified expression overtook Midoriya's face. Even quicker this time, Tenko tried to clarify, "Not that I used it on you or anything." Then he gave a smirk, "Although, I must say you have a pretty good bathroom." Face turning red, Midoriya let go of his shoulder and started walking backwards, somehow avoiding a police car going nearby.

Leaping slightly into the air and activating Hover, a quick use of his Air Force technique sends him flying back to Hope Tower. He had a lot of paperwork to do, after all.


	6. Fallout

Bioelectricity is defined as the electric currents within cells, tissues, and organisms. Turns out our electronics are not the only things to have these currents. This had been something that—well, he already knew, but Midoriya was reminded of when he had discovered Bioelectric Touch. The ability to release some of the electricity running naturally throughout his body at a rapid rate into someone else's. It would cause an overload of their internal currents and stun, sometimes even paralyze them. However, this aspect of it only came out from One for All's enhancement. In its base form, the quirk was not much more than a mild discomfort unless pushed to its natural limits.

Midoriya turned to idly using this quirk as a nervous tick. He would simply transfer the electricity between his two hands, giving him a small sensation to distract himself upon. This had been a habit that no one could stop over the years, but had been hidden during his hero work or public appearances, he had to look confident after all. Besides, as Bakugou put it, "Better this than the nerd's damn mumbling."

Forming a current with his two hands, he sat in his office staring at the television. Someone had recorded part of Tenko and Shinso's attack against the other heroes. To say it made headlines would be an understatement. Up to that point, there had been nothing to contest the idea that Tenko had successfully redeemed himself other than baseless speculation and fear mongering from the Japanese government's political opposition. But this had changed that. Suddenly the media thought Tenko was too powerful to be allowed his own free will, if he could be controlled into a weapon of mass destruction so easily. Being both the one who had advocated for Tenko's rehabilitation in the past year and the one who ultimately put an end to the Sludge Villain's control over him, multiple reporters had requested for a statement from Deku regarding the incident.

Remembering Tenko's rant, he thought that perhaps Tenko would like to confront the media himself. Finally cutting off his electric current, Midoriya dug into his pocket and fished out his government-secure phone: lacking most features smartphones had nowadays, reduced primarily to calling and texting. He eyed his many contacts, scrolling to where it had his friend's name. A quick tap on the screen and, in a newly built apartment by U.A. Tenko's own phone rang.

"Wassup Midoriya?" He sounded strangely casual. "Um, I was just wondering if, um, you wanted to address anything to the press about what happened?" In the U.A. home, an eyebrow raised, "The hell are you? Underground Daily?" Underground Daily was a corporation notorious for trying to do anything to get the latest scoop. Their most infamous case was getting former Ketsubutsu Academy student Itejiro Toteki to admit to rigging the Hero Popularity Contest in the Toyama Prefecture 7 years ago. Though after that they largely declined in popularity, now becoming a laughing stock. "No! I just-they keep asking me for a statement regarding the incident, and I am assuming you have been getting even more requests. Maybe we could put out a joint statement about the matter?" Tenko sighed, "Midoriya, listen. I have not been a hero for that long, barely any time in fact. Despite all the training, I have no clue what I'm doing half the time. And now with what happened with Shinso, I am not even sure if I should've been able to stop that sludge shit before he took control of me." He took a moment to breathe. Midoriya glanced at the steel door that had separated his office from the rest of the tower. The room was soundproof, but it still did not feel right to get so personal in the comfort of his office. "Hey, Tenko, would it be alright if I came over?" "Oh, uh, sure, whatever. Come. I won't have coffee or whatever you kids are addicted to nowadays." "Kids? Tenko, you're like a few years older than-" "Shush now. You can come on over to daddy's house." He hang up with that.

Midoriya had just been packing his office up when his smart phone started ringing. Thinking it may be Tenko, he immediately picked it up without paying attention to the name. "Hey, what is going on?" A loud, stern voice came from the other side, "Yes! Midoriya! I had something to inform you regarding our upcoming 10 year reunion!" It was Iida he had picked up. Usually Iida does not call people's smart phones unless it is an emergency, otherwise he sticks to text messaging. Knowing this, Midoriya became alarmed. Iida went on, "Given the recent incident, several of our classmates have requested that you not bring Tenko Shimura to the reunion. Would you like to inform him of this or should I?" Midoriya frowned, Tenko was meant to come as his Plus One. He had thought his friends could start to familiarize themselves with him. For some it was not even their first encounter with the new Tenko. Hearing this, he knew he would rip into his former classmates another day. But for now, "Don't worry, I was about to go see him anyways, so I'll tell him." "Great! It will be nice to see you at the reunion in a week."

-My Hero Future-

Midoriya knocked on the pristine wooden door. A pale hand moved it open. The smiling face of Tenko had greeted Midoriya as he came in. As he sat down, Tenko started, "It's been awhile since I saw you, at least outside of hero work." Nervous laughter came out of Midoriya, while Tenko had worked as a sidekick over at his agency, he had only met up with him once since his rehabilitation outside of that. Tenko's attempt at an icebreaker ended up making the conversation even more awkward. "Y-yeah, it has been." They both stayed in silence for a moment. Deciding this was not going to work, Midoriya got right to the point, "You could not have done anything about getting brainwashed." Tenko tried to counter this claim but got interrupted, "No, you couldn't have. You couldn't have known that Shinso's body was taken over, nor could you have known that replying to him was going to give him control over you. We did not talk about Shinso that much back at Alderaan."

Despite this encouragement, Tenko still gave off a sigh, "Midoriya. Then what am I doing wrong?" "What do you mean?" "Well, why does it seem like no one wants to be around me? You are basically my only damn friend!" Midoriya was a little surprised, it's not everyday that Tenko acknowledges they're friends. "And not only that, but they seem to be insistent that I'm going to screw them over like Shigaraki." Part of Tenko's rehabilitation had been mentally separating his old self from his new self. Now he speaks of his past villainy as if it were committed by a completely different person.

Midoriya made a peculiar face after this, remembering what Iida told him. Tenko picked up on this, "You know something don't you?" Midoriya suddenly had an interest in the floor. "What is it, Midoriya?" "Ah, well, after we talked, um." He scratched his cheek. Tenko spat out, "Get on with it." "Alright alright. So Iida called me up." Tenko's eyes focused in, "Ingenium?" "Yes, that's his hero name." Tenko didn't even connect his name back to when he had fought him as Shigaraki. Midoriya continued, "So he called me up and, well, I mentioned to you that you could come with me to our class reunion next week?" Tenko nodded. "Well, apparently some of my classmates are uncomfortable with that, and it has been requested that. Um. That you should not come?"

A contemplating look came over Tenko, he started to grip the edges of his chair. The chair would have disintegrated if it were not for his specially made gloves from Hatsume Corp. and their recent partnership with U.A. His teeth forced themselves to grind together. A sense of familiar yet untapped fury started to leak out of him. Midoriya tried to plug it back in, "I know how you feel about this, but we can-" "You know? You know!?" Tenko stood up. "What the hell do you know about me?" Midoriya got out of his chair as Tenko approached. "You haven't been through half the shit I have. And for what? No one even gives me a chance so why bother!"

They stood there, tense, reading into each other's eyes. Deku saw hatred in Tenko, all his years of rehabilitation seemingly disintegrated. Tenko saw understanding in Deku, but he thought it was nonsense. He did not understand. Midoriya spoke in a hushed voice, "I have been through half the shit you have. I have been with you. We have gotten to know so much about each other. Trust me, please, this is not to hurt you or be destructive towards anyone else." Tenko's hatred evaporated. "Please Tenko, you know as much as I do why they would be wary to let you show up. They need time to get to know you for who you are now."

They both sat back down. Relaxed, Tenko looked down at the floor, thinking of how he got to this point. How he almost ruined all of Midoriya's hard work. Glancing back up, Midoriya didn't seem annoyed or angry. He seemed almost content. Ashamed, Tenko started, "Midoriya, I am so sorr-" "None of that. I already told you, I understand. At least you're with me." He smiled.

An hour later they both had an impromptu press conference at Hope Tower. Closing the long joint statement, Tenko finished with, "And so I get why you are all so cautious of me. But I will prove myself. Just watch me." He unknowingly echoed Endeavor's own words from when he had become the Number One Hero. Just as it did back then, the world promised to watch Tenko now. Oh, they would certainly watch him.

-My Hero Future-

Alien Queen had been set up near the 3rd Super Prison that night, they just wanted an extra hero outside as a precautionary measure. She understood. She was the first to have called Iida, telling him that she would not be coming to the reunion. When questioned, she implied it was due to Tenko. He promised he would see what he could do. Calling back later on, Tenko would no longer be there.

She had been getting more on the edge recently, and couldn't even be near Shinso anymore, which luckily only got close to happening once. Kirishima made efforts to counsel her, but she began to become uneasy around him too. During one such attempt, she had said to him, "Why are you trying to get me to be so unconcerned? You working for Tenko or something?" Taken aback, Kirishima stopped his attempts to comfort her after that.

Pacing back and forth, she barely noticed a giant figure soaring through the air, over to the prison. Glancing over, it appeared to have had wings, somehow able to carry the hulking beast. Then it dropped right into the prison. A loud explosion came from it blasting through all the security measures. She quickly slid over to the prison with her acid while contacting any nearby heroes.

Within the prison, the monster looked around at the prisoners of varying notoriety. The blue eyes of Dabi stared as the thing ignored all of them. It went down the hall, out of his view. A special room had been reserved for that prison's Nomu at a completely independent part of the prison. It was securely protected by 3 armed guards with quirk suppressing bullets. They were already prepared for the beast that started walking towards them. Firing multiple shots, they appeared ineffective as the beast used his wings to fly directly toward them. Their mouth opened, with a black hole, akin to that of Thirteen's, within his maw. The security cameras played as the monster, covered in black, seemed to vaporize the guards.

It slammed into the Nomu's room. The "Higher-End" project was startled at the intrusion. It was a shapeshifter Nomu, able to change into seemingly anything it could think of. Right now, it was a Nomu. The project stepped back when the monster charged after it. The next Ashido saw of the monster was it flying back out, she hadn't even reached the prison. It did not seem to have the Nomu with it.

The beast was gone as quick as it was here. It was truly a bad week for Ashido.


	7. Rupture

Todoroki had been sent over to the 3rd Super Prison to interrogate one of the witnesses to the monster's arrival. The cameras immediately stopped working when the beast broke in, his entrance disconnecting or straight up destroying them. Most of the prisoners are not trustworthy enough to be allowed to give their own perspective, so they just don't bother. However, with the Number Three Hero around, they could try and get a certain someone to spill.

He sat down in the interrogation room. Two officers dragged in Dabi, much to his dismay, and forced him down. The screen between them fizzled into transparency. Dabi looked at Todoroki and his expression suddenly shifted to one of surprise, and then a smirk took over, "Wow, Shouto, wasn't expecting you to come back for a month, or two, maybe even three." Todoroki rolled his eyes, "Neither was I, Toya, but it seems neither of us expected 'this.'"

Dabi, who used to prefer that name over Toya Todoroki, made an 'o' shape with his mouth, "So that's why you're here. Some creature breaks into your little super secure prison and now suddenly you guys care about security. I don't even know what the hell he did. Didn't let me out, that's for sure." He made a gesture towards himself. "So whaddya wanna know, lil bro?" The 'lil bro' in question sighed, "We mainly just want a description of his appearance and movements. What do you remember?"

Toya had the nerve to laugh, "Well he was gigantic, bigger than that big ol' Gigantomachia." No one was quite sure of what happened to Gigantomachia after the final battle from Shigaraki. The only one who seemed to have known was Tenko, but he has refused to say anything about it over the years, eventually seemingly forgetting it entirely. "Not only that, he was black, not trying to be racist, but-" the poor man laughed at his own comment, "But he was. I am only assuming he is male because he was fucking decked out like damn I doubt All Might had anything on him!" He got a harder laugh out of that one.

Todoroki rolled his eyes again, "Toya, please take this seriously." Toya waved him off, "Right, right. Anyways, he had gigantic wings too. I did not get a good look at his face, though from what I saw it wasn't pretty." Todoroki leaned in. "That thing's face seemed deformed, with his big chin and blocky nose. Weird thing that one." Toya sighed like he was remembering some fond childhood memory, which should be impossible as he lacks any. Todoroki urged him to continue. So he did, "Ah, right. His movement. Yea, didn't see shit. He just walked off." Todoroki sighed. This was a waste of time, they basically already knew this.

He got up to indicate the discussion was over, but Toya urged him to sit back down, "Come on, chill. You probably aren't coming for like a few months anyways. Besides, I wanted to discuss something with you." Todoroki raised an eyebrow, "And what would that be?" Dabi smirked, "I like to think that I've been cooperative overall. I don't usually have a fit here. But, damn, this prison's shit. Like look at me, I've been more careless than I ever was before getting thrown into here!" Todoroki let him go on. "So imagine my shock when I heard on TV that there was a villain rehabilitation program." Todoroki shuffled into his seat, he hadn't been in agreement regarding the program himself, but Midoriya's insistence made him cave. "And now imagine my shock when I heard that Tomura Shigaraki was the only damn villain in the program. A mass-murderer becoming a hero? Really?"

Dabi shook his head, "No, no. I heard the motive stated by PR, that if it could work for, 'Tenko'," he used air quotes for that one, "then it could work for anybody!" He grew a mocking smile. "But I highly doubt that's the case. I mean, don't you think that's a bit unfair? That Shigaraki gets to run loose but your brother is still stuck here?" Todoroki shrugged. "Well, I think it is. But I think I know the real reason why Shigaraki was chosen out of every villain in the whole damn nation. And it's not your little idealistic one. But I won't share theories here. Just something for you to think about." Todoroki rolled his eyes, "I had come here to interrogate you about what you witnessed, and this is what we end with? This was a waste of time." He stormed out, with Dabi chuckling as he too was escorted back.

-My Hero Future-

Ashido, despite her quibbles with Tenko and her relationship with Kirishima, was still a member of the Deku Agency. She wore an uncharacteristic frown on her face as she walked down the halls of Hope Tower into the meeting room. It was set to discuss the mysterious creature that broke into the prison she was meant to watch. Just another reminder of how she failed her duty, and how paranoia in her line of work is justifiable. One can not let someone get too close to them, nor can they let their guard down for a moment. Something can always hurt a hero.

She entered the room and took a glance at the heroes. There were about 20 in the room. Some she wasn't well-acquainted with, some she was, as after all, they were her former classmates, including Deku himself. However, there was one hero that made her stomach twist. She spotted Tenko right next to Midoriya, seemingly relaxed. How could he be relaxed after what he's done? Not only to her, but to the thousands he's killed.

She had begrudgingly accepted Tenko initially, but after he was taken over by Shinso's quirk she realized just how much firepower he still had. How was he to be trusted? And why does even else act like it's fine? Especially her dear Eijiro, she thinks that he was set up by Tenko or Midoriya to force her to conform. She was so absorbed by these thoughts as she sat down that most of the meeting glazed by her. All she could do was stare at Tenko, who noticeably avoided looking at her. Good.

She only snapped back into focus once Deku started passing out a photo from the security camera footage. It showed the beast she saw that day, with it being mid-frame of the guards being sucked into his black hole. She could only take one look at it before immediately turning away. It was sickening. Something so horrific could happen so quickly. Who is to say Tenko, or anyone else in this room, wouldn't do the same?

Apparently Deku recited what was learned from Toya, but she didn't need to hear it, she saw it. It all kept playing in her mind: Mount Lady collapsing onto her, the explosion that arose from the prison. She failed to save them. Not again.

Not again.

-My Hero Future-

The Ground Zero Agency was not invited into the Tartarus Investigation. Obviously, Ground Zero, otherwise known as Katsuki Bakugou (or Kacchan), was pissed. Kirishima was his main sidekick, though sidekick was only what he listed as an occupation. Truthfully, they were partners. The Number Two Hero and Number Eight Hero. The Symbol of Victory and the Symbol of Chivalry.

There were a handful of other heroes in the agency, but they paled in comparison to the size of Deku's. In most ways, Ground Zero was stuck in Deku's shadow, even though Deku kept trying to let him have some spotlight. Bakugou kept refusing, however, as he wasn't going to accept some damn handouts! He was the goddamn Symbol of Victory!

This brings us to the current situation. Bakugou and Kirishima sitting alone in their own meeting room. It was the only place in the building that was soundproof, much to the agency's dismay whenever Bakugou had a fit in his office, which wasn't actually that often, relatively speaking. Unfortunately, he was having a fit now. Kirishima made a quick eye roll as Bakugou ranted, "And why the fuck is Deku's group of nerds the only goddamn agency on it? I know Ashido was a witness but dammit it should at least be a team-up!" He slammed his fast onto the table.

Kirishima gave a swift reply, "As you said, Mina was a witness which makes her participation crucial and Deku's agency is both bigger and higher-ranking than ours." Bakugou pouted, "I know, I know. But I'm still pissed off. We haven't had a meaningful case in a long time. Taint was just some fucking nobody." Kirishima quickly nodded, "I get it. But there's not much we can do about it."

Bakugou sighed, "Great, fucking whatever." He turned to Kirishima, "Speaking of Ashido, how has she been holding up?" Kirishima frequently discussed his problems to the angry hero, but Bakugou was usually quite understanding about it. He did not like to admit it, but he had a soft spot for Kirishima, and, though less, a soft spot for the rest of his former class. Except Deku, he told himself, not fucking Deku. Kirishima frowned, "She's been getting worse. It's almost like she's projecting her failures onto Tenko. She really doesn't like him." Bakugou also frowned, more genuine than his usual scowl, "She needs to get her ass over it. I didn't like Shigaraki, guy was an asshole, but Tenko is basically a different person." Kirishima threw his hands into the air, "I know! I tried to tell her! But now she's starting to turn on me." He let his face fall onto the table, "It's getting bad Bakubro."

Bakugou glanced down at Kirishima's head, looking away he went on, "You still planning on proposing to her?" Kirishima nodded from the table, his head shifting slightly while doing so, "I have to. I need to commit to her, before she collapses. She needs someone." "I know Kirishima, she does."

-My Hero Future-

Midoriya was back in his office, alone. He kept looking over the few seconds of footage. The only quirk he'd ever seen like this was black hole, but even that wasn't so quick and efficient as that thing. More and more he kept feeling like he slipped up somewhere. Objectively, he was stronger than his late mentor, the former Symbol of Peace. But subjectively, he felt he didn't have the same comfort and ability to save everyone. While he was doing paperwork, Shinso and Tenko were controlled in a plot to take him down. He let his friends down.

Both Tenko and himself noticed today how Ashido kept looking at the All for One holder. He remembered how multiple of his classmates rejected Tenko's presence at their reunion. He gripped his hair.

He tried having his old friend, Melissa Shield, come over to replace Tenko as his Plus One. But she had been too bad. Although, as a concession, she offered to have them meet up sometime after the reunion. She claimed to have a surprise for him anyways, sounding quite enthusiastic on the phone. Sighing, he realized that he would probably have to go alone. Isn't that funny? The Number One Hero has no one to go with him to his class reunion. It was only in 4 days, and he didn't want to bother anyone else, not that he really felt comfortable inviting someone who hadn't been with him during his time at U.A., and Hatsume, despite helping considerably as support, had her own company to run.

He leaned back in his chair and glanced up to the only piece of hero merchandise in his room, a limited-edition Silver Age All Might poster. He muttered to the inanimate object, "How did you do it?"


End file.
